mueller



-(`No Model.) 4- 3 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

D. MUBLLER;

Fur. Pluok'i'ng Machine.'

No, 243,152. Patented June 21,1881.

(Nb Model.) 3 sheets- Sheet 2'.

. D. MUBLLER.4 ',Fur Plucking Machine.

N0.243,152. f Patentedlunegznlssg 74' frz @56.5.

@ u Jn( (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 D. MUELLBR.

Fur Pluoking lVIaLohinev.` Np. 243,152.- Patented J'unezmssn W4/Zawya@ l 1 I 0, l/ A DAVID MUELLER, 0F

PATENT OFFICE.

NEW YORK, N. Y, IASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO DAVID KONIGSBERG. OF' SAME PLACE.

FUR-PLUCKING-MACHlN-E.

SPEGXFIGATION'forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,152, dated ilune 21, '18811. t Application filed November-5,1860. (Nomodel'.) A

the following manner: Small sections of the fur are blown against with suiicien't foree'to x'5 separate the soft hair or wool'from the stiff hairs, causing the wool to lie down and leav` ing the stii hairs erect.. The wool is now held down by a comb andthe hairs removed by cutting them offas closely to the skin as the adj`azo cent wool will permit, and so the whole skin is gone over, operating on small sections at a time. Consequently such workis very slow and tedious, besides the short stubbles of the hairs make the fur somewhat harsh, when the ob- 2 5 ject of picking furs is to make them uniformly soft and pliable. The object of this invention is to facilitate the operation of fur-picking by means of a machine constructed to operate automatically, 3o and also toimprove the class of work done by an improved method of removing the hairs from the fur, which improved method consists in plucking'or pulling the hairs out o f the skin,

instead ofcutting them oii, so that no short stubble is left to detract from the natural soft ness of the wool of lthe fur. To accomplish this work 'automatically the fur is connected to feeding-tapes in themachine, which are operated, when power is applied to its drivingshaft, to draw the fur over a comparatively sharp. edge ot' a table, constructedto spread the fur laterally as it moves overit. The nozzie of a bellows or other blowing device located oppositethe edge of the table, and having a narrow. opening extending the whole width ofl the table, directs a blast of air against the hairs and wool ot' the for standing out y over the edge ofthe table, thereby blowing 'the wool backward', leaving the hairs standing out. Gates then close down on the woolrat 5o both sides ot' the row of lia-irs, the edges of the gates having the hairs between them, butl i not touching them. The air-blast from thev nozzle now ceases, and apair of pulling-bars pivotedl in sliding blocks move up' in close-55 proximity to the gates, so that the row of hairs -is between theired ges. Thev then close down on the'hairs, grping the hair rmly between rubber strips and a grooved metal surface on their meeting dges. The sliding blocks' now 6o move back, carrying the vgriping-bars with them, and so pull out all the hairs exposed beand the accompanying three sheets Ofdraw 75 ings. forming part of'this specification, and to which I will now refer, the different views ot' the drawings `representing;the parts of the machine, as follows: l

' Fig-ure 1, Sheet `1, is aside elevation ofmy Sq improved fur-pluckingmachine. Fig. 2, Sheet 1, is a. plan `of the same. Fig. Il; Sheet 2, is a 4verticallongitudinal elevation. Fig.4, Sheet 2,'

is an enlarged viewof the principal,operating devices of themachine, showing the gates am 85 the hair-pulling gripingbars open and thewool of the fur blown back from the `edge of thetable. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is a similar view, showing the next operationeviz., the gates closed 4down on the wool of the fur." Fig. (i, Sheet 2, 9o

is a similar view, showingthehair-pulling griping-bars moved forward and closed down on the hairs. lFig. 7, Sheet 2,is also asimilarview, lshowing the griping-bars moved back and the hairs-pulledout of the hide thereby. lFig. 8 95 Sheet 3, is av transverse sectional elevation,

lshowing the disposition on the main' shnft of A. l

the earns for operating the various devices.

Fig. i), Sheet 3, is an enlarged view of u part of the feeding device; and Fig. l0, Sheet 3 is u longitudinal section ofthe sume. y

lhefeedmg device is constructed and oper- 5 ated as follows:

'Iwoshafts, o und a', placed one above the other, ure iittcd to rotate iubearings at one end of the main frames I il. They'are slotted in three or more pinces, in which slots are placed the ends of tapes or bands o'L and a3., the other endsof these bands being vsecured byineuns of sewing or suitable clasps to two opposite edges jofthe i'ur c. ".lhe upper set ot' hands, a?, are

wound upon the shuit a, und sornuch ol' the iur as will allow its .trc edge'to just reach the rounded edge of the table which extends across the whole width of the machine and is located about-the middle of the side frames. 'lhehands a2, secured to the free end of the fur, pass around the rounded-edge tzr-hie d and under the table to the shaft; a. 'Motion is intel:- mittently applied to the shafts a and a from the cam c, secured to themaiu shaft f, through the medium of therod e', provided with a roller against which the cam e acts, and forked atits lower end to fit over the shaft. f as guide forv its lowerend. `'.lhe upper eud'of it is pivoted to the arm e2, rocking looselftv on the shaft a. kSaid arm e2 carries a springpawl adapted t0 catch in the teeth of the 4gem-\.."uee1 c, also loosely fitted on the shalta, and which carries a pawl arranged to operate the ratchet-wheel e, v which is connected to the-shaft a throughthe medium of the coil-spring e5. A gear-wheehe", meshing into the wheel c, is connected to the shag@ by means of a rutchet-wheehand coilspring, which are similarlylettered to those on the shaft af, and are identical in construction therewith.

Tieenlarged views, Figs. '9 and 10, more clearl s how the construction of one set of wheels und pawls of the feeding device.

The fur being held by the two sets of bands aia andsh afts a and a', as before described, the

,4 5 proper'te'usion is imparted toit by turning the ratchet-'wheels 'e, thereby winding up the, coilsprings c5 e, which connect the two ratchetwheels to the shafts a and a'. The fur is fed over the rounded odge of the'table d about the one=sixteenth of au inch each time the cam c makes a revolution, moving the wheel e3 in the direction indicated by the arrow andy wind ng up the lower set of bands, a, on the shaft a', und at the same time letting oi from the shaft a the .fur or upper set of hands, a, as fast as it is wound up on the lower shatt, a', the meshing together of wheels c and. c nlways keeping the fur under tension; and should the stretching ot' the fur and. bands not be 6o suicient to accommodate the slight gradual increase of the Feed due to the iucreasinganguinr velocity of the bands on the lower shaft,

c', ai d the decreasing angular velocit-y of them es thtv are unwound o' the shaft a, then the coil-spxin e5 "5 perform another usefulfunetion bvuzcommodating such variations in the tops of the side franges,

.rod e is.

feed, and'by always keeping the sume tension on thelfur. The spring; e7 moves the urni e'- back und keeps theiroller on the rod c' uguinst the cam c. When all the i'ur has been run- 'over the rounded ed ge ofthe tuhle dit readlly removed from the machine by releasing' the rutchetlwheels c* oi' the pawls on lthe wheels le c, which leaves the shafts a. and a free to have the hands and the Tur .unwound tlieretrom. and a fresh fur. with connecting-bands attached thereto and adjusted iu the machine, as -above set forth.

The'nextdevice in order is the tuhle d. This hns acu-rvcd top; as shown, .which is provided with a series of grooves, di, 1l', converging from Athe conter to each side, which is` clearly seen bydotted lines in the plan. view, Fig. 2. The objeet'of these convergent grooves -is io causo4 thev fur to travel from the center ot' the table t0 both sides. as it is drawn over the table, and as this teudencby of. the fur to move side wise is equal in hoth directions, it follows that the only action on it is to stretch it. trans versely, thereby removing all creases and 'cuus- 9o ing it to move over the round edge of the tu-l ble in u smooth condition. 0n the under sideV of the table d is aleurved plate, d", adjoining ille rounded edge,over which the fur is pulled as it leaves the rounded edge. The table is 95 secured by bolts tornerai frames bolted to the i If', at about the center thereof.

The air-blastfprodueingv device is next in order. 'In the drawings it is represented as roo an ordinary bellows, the top plate, g, of which is secured to'ihe side frames, b c', and the bottom plate, g', hinged to the nozzle-holder, which extends the whole width of the machine, the openingrin the nozzle s being a iongnarx05 row `,lit located a short distance fromthe roun'd edge ofthe tabled, and in line therewith. The

plate g' is `provided wit-h an aicinlet valve,

and at ils rear 'end has an eye, to which is pivoted the rod g2, the lower end of which is no pivoted to the arm g, secured to the rock-shaft g, towhich motion is imparted from the cum h, secured to the main shaft f in the position indicated in Fig. 8, through the medium ot' the rod h', bifureated to straddle the shai'tf, 1x5 and provided with a. roller and retrnctile spring in a. similar manner and for the purpose the The other end ci' the rod h is conneeted to the -short arm h2, secured to the yrock-shaft if, as shown at Fig. 3. The outer izo end of the arm g3 is slotted, so as to allow the pivot connecting' the rod a2 thereto to he adjusted toward andA from the rock-shaftg4, thereby permitting the movement of the lower plate, g', if-the bellows to be varie-d und ad- 1:5 justed in accordance with the'strcngth of blast required to separate the wool from the hairs of the part of the fur standing cutoff the rounded edge of the table.

'arrangement'for holding back the wool after it is separated from thehairs by the air-blast.

escroc a This device consists of two thin plates, i t', or M gates, as l' term them, secured longitudinally to two d. ni'ts, -i i2, fitted to rock in bearings provided therefor in the frames which hold the table d. To prevent the gates 'i shutting oli" the eir-biastffrom the ivool as they ere closing down onto it, which would allow some of the wool to spring,P buch, l perforale. the gates, thus admitting the blest to pass through them, and so? continuously act on the wool until the gates have closed on it. The' shafts t" sind tznrc connected together bysmali gear-wheels, so that the gutes 't' c' nre caused lto move wend from the rounded edge of the table simultaneously; end they are so operated bythe rod t3j,colui1ecting, the lon'er elicit, i2, .to the rock-shaft ti, by

boing piroied to cranks or arms on the ends of'thern, the roclt'nhaft i* receiving its more nient from the earn k, secured to the moin shalt f, throughV the medium oi the bifurcated rod is", also provided with e roller to act against the cent .11', and e rirnctile sprin g to keep the roller against the com and to move the gates 'i away from 'he rounded edge oi' the table.

The 'device for pulling the heirs out of the shin consists oi the two gripingbnrs l l, connected. to or forming a. part of the shaft L und l?. These bers Z i are the snrne Width as the gaies it' and extend across the machine, and their shafts l'` I2 pass through bearings in the blocks Za Z3, which are fitted to vslide. in frames secured to the tops of the frames b b. These shafts l' Z2 ere connected together by means ot' smell gennwheels, and caused torock in their bearings, so as lo open and close the gripingbars-Z by the lower one, Z2, being connected to the rock-shaft li through-thc medium of the rod l5 and arms on the ends oi the shafts. A

' k cam, m, secured to the main shaftf, nctuates the rock-shaft li by means ofthe bifu rooted rod mi, connected to the arm 'm2 ou the rock-shaft l". This rod 'm2 is provided with e roller and a. retrectile spring, the end of thespring being secured to the bnr u, which extends across from frame b to frame b', as are the relractile springs of the other bifurceted rods, before mentioned. The grilling-surface of one of the bars lor l' is provided with a 'flexible face, made by tting a. strip of india-ru bber in e doretailed groove, and the other one is provided with longitudinal metal ridgresI as is clearly shown in the' enlarged view, Fig. 5, so that they are ene ,bled to rlnly gripe thc hairs between litem. They may both here flexible faces; but l prei'er to make one of them with metal ridges, shown, ns being more eflicacious to properly perform theiri'unctiou. The two slidin'gf,Y blocks a i ereopernicd so as to canse the griping-bars l l to approach to or recede from the rounded edge ot the table d by means ofithc tiro ca lns o o', secured tothe moin shaitf, between which is placed the slotted rod o?, provided with two rollers, one to act on each of the coms o o', one of which is the reverse oi' the other, so c positive mot-ion is given the rod o2 in both direc tions; ond the upper end of the rod o2 is pivotcd to un crm, o3, secured to the roc-lished n, to each `end of which are securely faistened the biiurcnl'ed nrnisp'p, embracing studs projecting` from the. sliding,r blocks I3 Z3, so that the recit-shell, p imports reciprocating motion to the blocks l I as itis nctuntcd by the cams o o through. the medium of the rod o2. The mein shaft f carries a pulley, r, over which runs a. belt from the. source ot' power to impart rotary motion to the shaft, and this shaftf, with the rock-shafts i* dhd14, is carried in bearings lo cated at the central lower parts ofthe frames b b', the rock-shaft g4 being under the bellows g gf at the. lower part of the frames and the rock-shaft p directly under the sliding'blocks lf Z3, and' most ofthe connecting gears and rods nre duplicated, as shown, to insure the various devices properly performing their functions; and the various cams actuating the different devices are so shapednd adjusted onV the main sheftfin such manner, ns iswcll understood by skilled mechanics, to cause the various devices to operate in unison and perform lie work for which they aredesigned, as folons:

The l'uris placed in the machine so that its edge is just over the rounded edge of the table d, or ismoved in this position. by the feeding device, as before described. The grilling-bars LZ are open and in their backward positions, and the gates e' t' also opened against the bars l l', thus forming a channel through which the blast of air passes'. As the nozzle s of' the bellows is between the bars l L', the blast of nirA from thej nozzle s blows the wool of the fur away from the hairs, as shown at Fig. 4. The gates t' now close down ou the wool, leaving the hairs only standing outbetween their edges, as shown at Fig. 5. The air-blast now ceases and the griping-bars Z Z move forward and come together, griping the hairs firmly between them, as shown at Fig- 6; or the blst may continue until the griping-bars have closed on the hairs. l The griping-bers no w move bach nwny from the rounded edge of the table, thereby pulling all the hairs presented to them entirely out of the skin, as shown at Figf. The griping-bars Il now open, dropping the hairs pulled outby them, and the gates open against the griping-bors il', as shown et Fig. 4.- 4 The feed operates to bring` a fresh part of the fur over the rounded edge of the tabie d, and the operation of the various devices jnst described is repeated, and so on un.-

til the whole fur has been passed under treatment and all the hairs removed therefrom, when it is removed and a fresh one placed in the machine.

Letters Patent of the United Stat-,s to Il. A. House and S. D. Castlefnunlbere'd 233,415', dated October 19, 1880, for machine for treating pelts, shows a device for pulling out the mastcrhairs from peus. So I do not claim, broadly, a. hair-pulling device; nor do I claim, broadly, the combination of eknife-edged bnr and means for stretching and intermittently feeding the skin over the har with an air-forol ing apparatus arrangedahove the knife-edged it nnderstoodthat I do Having now described my invention and thel manner in which it may he carried out, I wish not confine myself` to the particular construction and arrangement of the mechanical elements set forth to operate rSi the various devices forplucking fnr by entirely removing thehairs therefrom, as it is evident that numerous modifications may be made in the machine above described without departingfrom the nature of my invention.' So

- What I claim, and desire to secure by Let-- ters Patent, is-

l.' Asaxrimprovementin theart of pinching fnrs, tiret separating the softlwool from the o ftwo shafts,

cured to the fur are wound, andhavmg an in.

heirs by means ot'an air-bias't, and then pliiL ing out the hairs entirely from 'the skin, snbstantially as hereinhetore set forth.

2. 'in afurfeeding device, the combination upon which the for or bonds setermittent motion imparted to them, with e ,curved table, provided with ccnvergcntgrocves on its surface and a rounded edge, over which the for is intermittently fed, substantially as andy for the purpose hereinhe'ore set forth.

- 3.- -In efunfeedingdevice,thearm e, provid- 3 ed with apawland oscillated by ineens cfa cmu A. on the main shaftot'the machine, thcgeanwheel .v c", also provided with a pawl, `and the ratchetwheel e?, connected to the shaft c' bymcansoi the coil-spring' e5, in combination-with the .\viththe griping hars l l',

tion, a rounded-edge table, over .rhichthe :"nr is fed', an air-blast-prodncingdevice, gates for holding baci; the soft Wool of the for, and a pair ot' gripinghars for pulling the hairs ont of the skin which project between the nates,

constructed and operated substantially ae here inhefor'e set forth.

5. The combination and arrangement o' the automa-tical! 5.1 operated devices constituting e 'fur-pinching,r machine, as follows: a feeding andl spreading device consisting of two iension-shafts, around which the fur or its holding-bands are wound, and a con rorgentiy grooved and rounded-edge iahie, a.v pair of gates for lioldinghack the woei on the rounded edge of the table, an air-biast-producing de vice, and apair'of heir griping and pulling liars, substantia'iy as hereinbetore set forth.

6. In combination, the gatess' i, constructed and operated to hold hack the wool ot' the for, fittedl in sliding blocks Z3 Z3, and operated to proximity to the gates, then closed to gripe he tween them the hairs standing ont between the gates, and then moved hack, carryisg hairs with them-substantieiy as and the purpose hereinbebre set forli.

In a hair griping and n lling; dericathe combination ci' the bar I, 'provided with. en

eiastic face, with the har l', orovided with ridged face to act against they elastic face or the bar Z, substantially as and for the purpose hereinueforo set forth.

In witness whereof I have ieresnto set my hand this 30th day of October, A. D. i885,

. DAVID MUELLER; In presence OEL..

D. Knrcsreec, H. D. WrLLIAMe.

he mot-'ed in cieca 

